The purpose of this lab was to differentiate acceleration from velocity. A constant acceleration is the rate in which an object speeds up or slows down within a certain amount of time (m/s^2, miles/h^2, etc.) Constant Velocity is when an object is going at a constant speed and direction, so the object could not turn or have an increasing or decreasing speed.
In this lab I found the difference between acceleration and velocity by rolling a marble across a table. First I rolled the marble down the flat table and marked every half second, then i used microsoft excel to graph the distance and time of each mark. The graph was a straight line with points that were equidistant from each other. Then I put the table at an incline and rolled the marble down it. When I marked the table this time, the marks got farther and farther away from each other. Then when i graphed the data the points were at a curve and separated from each other over time.
In this lab I found out that constant velocity and constant acceleration are very different from each other. Velocity is dependent on time and direction where as acceleration is dependent on time and velocity.
When finding the constant velocity and constant acceleration I used two formulas. For constant acceleration I used a=v/t ( acceleration=velocity/time) and for constant velocity I used v=d/t(velocity=distance/time).
When graphing the data I was able to find the equation for each graph by using the equation of a line (mx+b=y) where y=distance, x=time, m=slope, and b=0 because that was the beginning distance and time of the marble. This equation could be used to find potential points on the graph of where or when the marble will reach a certain point on the table.
The three most important things I learned in this experiment was the difference between acceleration and velocity, how to use excel to graph data, and how to use equations to determine potential points or times of moving objects.
I thought you did a great job explaining what acceleration and velocity are, and mentioning the process with the marble is a great visual way of learning even if I can't see it. I also thought your mentioning of formulas was a key thing that you included so when others may see this when taking the course they know how to solve different things. There were a few things I think you could change to help to the reader understand what you are talking about First off you maybe could try to include an image of the graphs if that is possible because when you explain the differences in the two lines I didn't really understand the significance of them being differently shaped until I read a few times. Lastly I would try to give a little background on both acceleration and velocity before diving right into it. For example you could say when the two are useful or something like that. But overall I the write up is well done
ReplyDeleteI really believe that you did a great job on this blog. Overall you made it very clear and easy to understand, which I feel is key when learning about physics, as it can get very confusing quickly! The way you explained what constant acceleration and constant velocity was really helpful, and definitely will be resorting to your post if I need to clear things up! The marble exercise that you chose, though simple, made it very easy to understand and grasp the idea that you were trying to put across to the reader. i agree with Tom, if you could possibly put in a video or even a simple diagram to show the idea and not tell. Also, maybe putting in a table of the different units for each component might make things even easier to see and understand. Lastly, a few real life examples of how constant acceleration and constant velocity would have been super helpful in relating the ideas to real day life! Overall, you did an amazing job in explaining and telling how acceleration and velocity truly work!
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